Teacher Education Stand-Alone Report 1 (Progress)

Year One Draft Evaluation Report of the Los Angeles Collaborative for Teacher Excellence

This evaluation report was prepared by an outside evaluator, Evaluation & Training Institute (ETI), as a stand-alone report.

Table of Contents:

1. Executive Summary
   • Executive Summary
2. Introduction
   • Project Description: Project Features
   • Evaluation Overview: Evaluation Purposes
3. Methodology
   • Design: Information Sources & Sampling, Instruments, Data Collection Procedures & Schedule,
   • Analysis Process:Quantitative Analysis
4. Findings
   • Results & Recommendations: Interpretations & Conclusions
5. Recommendations
   • Results & Recommendations: Recommendations
6. Appendices
   1. LACTE Faculty Interview/Focus Group Questions
   2. LACTE Student Interview/Focus Group Questions
   3. LACTE Faculty Survey
   4. LACTE Faculty Survey Responses

Year One Draft Evaluation Report of the Los Angeles Collaborative for Teacher Excellence

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Executive Summary

Large numbers of adults in California lack the basic math and science skills required to contribute to and compete in such growing fields as advanced technology, telecommunications, robotics, and bioscience. For the state's schools to educate children to be productive, contributing adults, educators must strengthen science and math curriculum and instruction.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has funded the Los Angeles Collaborative for Teacher Excellence (LACTE) to address the issue of strengthening science and math education. LACTE brings together five four-year institutions and five community colleges in a consortium to address the shortage of both qualified math and science teachers and the quality of instruction in elementary, middle, and senior high schools. Each of the four-year institutions is partnered with a community college.

The Evaluation and Training Institute (ETI) is conducting an independent, third-party evaluation of the Los Angeles Collaborative for Teacher Excellence. This report examines the progress made by LACTE in Year One and provides major qualitative and quantitative findings. Evaluation activities in Year One include focus groups, interviews, site visits, written surveys, and document review.

Program Elements

Formal program elements examined by ETI staff include: development of the collaborative; faculty recruitment and development; curriculum development; and student recruitment.

Development of the Collaborative

In Year One, LACTE put considerable effort into forming a collaborative that involves the ten LACTE campuses. Forming a collaborative in the Los Angeles area across ten campuses proved to be a complex undertaking. A number of LACTE programs throughout the year involved faculty from all LACTE institutions. Campuses began to form relationships with their partnered institutions, however the strength of these relationships was not universal across the institutions.

College of Education faculty and elementary and secondary teachers have generally not been brought into the collaborative. LACTE campuses are at different stages of implementing LACTE reforms and campuses are implementing the reforms in unique ways. Faculty expressed a need to have more information on how LACTE is being implemented on other campuses and in the collaborative as a whole.

Faculty Development and Recruitment

Faculty development is one of the strongest aspects of LACTE in Year One. Almost 80 percent of faculty surveyed indicated that faculty workshops met or exceeded their expectations. In addition, over 85 percent of faculty surveyed indicated that they were "likely" or "definitely likely" to use the techniques acquired in the workshops in their classrooms in the future. While a group of four-year institutions and community colleges are consistently well-represented at the workshops and other LACTE programs, other campuses do not have a strong presence. Faculty at four-year institutions without a strong presence suggested the need for more discipline-specific experts at LACTE programs. In addition, junior faculty expressed some concern about the effect of joining LACTE on tenure efforts.

Curriculum Development

In Year One, LACTE established course/module development guidelines and procedures. A few LACTE campuses had new courses that were approved or were in the process of approval. Some LACTE campuses have made considerable progress in curriculum development while other campuses are at the beginning stages. At the same time, surveyed faculty indicated that they were being successfully trained in new teaching techniques, including new classroom assessment techniques, and were using the new techniques in their classrooms. Faculty would like more discussion on the use of technology in reformed courses. The review of elementary and secondary programs was not a focus in Year One.

Student Recruitment

In Year One, different campuses devoted varying levels of energy to student recruitment. At some campuses, administrators and faculty expressed the need to establish LACTE in Year One before focusing on student recruitment. A sub-committee on student recruitment met regularly in Year One and began to develop a formal strategic plan for LACTE student recruitment, including minority student recruitment. Campuses are at different stages in developing their own recruitment plans that respond to their particular student bodies. On campuses with strong student involvement, faculty have implemented a variety of interesting and unique programs for students. Students involved in LACTE reported positive experiences. Students would like more opportunities for internships, including teaching assistantships at local schools.

Recommendations

ETI believes that there are specific recommendations that, when implemented, will enhance the various program dimensions of LACTE and strengthen LACTE overall in Years Two through Five.

Among ETl's recommendations are that LACTE:

• Include K- 12 teachers as participants in future workshops and other LACTE activities.
  
  
• Provide more discipline-specific experts presenting information at LACTE faculty development programs.
  
  
• Encourage all LACTE campuses in the revision of their curriculum.
  
  
• Include student and classroom assessment in the guidelines for the revision of courses.
  
  
• Promote interaction between College of Education and math/science faculty.
  
  
• Emphasize dissemination efforts at LACTE meetings. In addition, LACTE coordinators should develop an institutionalization plan that includes a time line and the assignment of specific responsibilities.
  
  
• Further develop the LACTE Web site and use it as a tool for internal and external dissemination of information.
  
  
• Continue development of a LACTE-wide student recruitment plan as well as individual campus recruitment plans.
  
  
• Vigorously market reformed courses to targeted students.
  
  
• Expand internships and other experiential learning experiences to more students.
  
  
• Provide an opportunity for individual campuses' students and faculty to share information on student activities on their campus.
  
  

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Introduction

Large numbers of adults in California lack the basic math and science skills required to contribute to and compete in today's technology-based workforce. At the same time, labor market needs in such growing fields as advanced technology, telecommunications, robotics, and bioscience require greater literacy in science and math. Clearly the fit between labor market needs and workforce skills require that Californians develop greater literacy in math and science. For the state's schools to educate children to be productive, contributing adults, educators must strengthen science and math curriculum and instruction.

The National Science Board and the Carnegie Forum on Education and the Economy have both predicted teacher shortages in the areas of mathematics and science. This shortage will be the result of several factors: current teachers leaving the profession to enter more lucrative positions in business; the retirement of many in the current teaching workforce; and, the low numbers of new college graduates entering teaching.

In addition to apprehensions about the quantity of teachers, many have expressed concerns about the quality of science and mathematics education taking place in the classroom. A survey conducted by the National Science Teacher's Association found that a majority of science teachers who were currently in the classroom rated their preparation for teaching in their fields as only "adequate" or "minimal.": The survey further reported that only 27 percent of elementary teachers felt qualified to teach either physical or earth/space science at their grade levels.

The National Science Foundation (NSF) has funded the Los Angeles Collaborative for Teacher Excellence (LACTE) to address the issue of strengthening science and math education. Specifically, the program targets teacher preparation and the participation of underrepresented students. LACTE brings together ten post-secondary partners in a consortium to address the shortage of both qualified math and science teachers and the quality of instruction in elementary, middle, and senior high schools.

Program Description and Objectives

LACTE is a five-year project that brings together five four-year institutions and five community colleges. Each of the four-year institutions is partnered with a community college as shown in Table I. The collaboration also includes "master teachers" from elementary and secondary schools, the California Museum of Science and Industry, and scientific industry participants.

LACTE Objectives

LACTE's five-year program specifically intends to:

• Build collaborative relationships and develop a network of students, faculty, and administrators;
• Increase the number of undergraduate students in mathematics and the sciences, especially those from underrepresented groups, who plan on teaching as a career and support those students through their academic programs;
• Refine the present course of study at each institution to reflect the integration of mathematics, science and technology in the pre-service content preparation of undergraduate students;
• Provide faculty development opportunities that result in improved classroom instruction and student learning;
• Develop internships and other experiential activities for students; and
• Disseminate program information to other undergraduate institutions for replication.

The Evaluation and Training Institute (ETI) is conducting an independent, third-party evaluation of the Los Angeles Collaborative for Teacher Excellence. This formative report examines the progress made by LACTE in Year One and provides qualitative and quantitative findings.

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Methodology

For the Year-One evaluation of LACTE, ETI developed interview guides, a written survey, and focus group guides incorporating input from key LACTE staff.

Evaluation Activities

During the course of Year One, ETI staff engaged in a variety of evaluation activities.

• Field Observation. Site visits were conducted at seven LACTE postsecondary institutions. California State University Dominguez Hills, East Los Angeles Community College, and Fullerton Community College requested that site visits be scheduled for Winter 1997.
  
  
• Focus Groups. Focus groups were conducted with math, science, and education faculty at seven of the collaborative campuses. Student focus groups were conducted at campuses where student recruitment had taken place in Year One. Using a moderator's guide, a trained facilitator led each group in a discussion of LACTE activities. The faculty and student moderator guides are presented in Appendices A (Instrument 3) and B (Instrument 2), respectively.
  
  
• Interviews. ETI researchers also interviewed key LACTE staff regarding their LACTE plans, objectives, and activities. In addition, telephone interviews were conducted with California State University Los Angeles and Loyola Marymount University students who had LACTE internships in Year One.
  
  
• Written Surveys. Written surveys were administered to faculty who participated in the spring faculty workshop. Surveys were designed to determine the relationship between workshop training and desired teaching improvement outcomes as well as specific likes and dislikes about the content of the faculty seminars. Twenty-five faculty members completed the survey. The survey is presented in Appendix C (Instrument 1) with the detailed survey results included in Appendix D.
  
  
• Document Review. ETI amassed and analyzed through content analysis all available documentation of LACTE activities. In addition, ETI reviewed the results from LACTE written assessments administered during faculty workshops.
  
  
• Thematic review. Focus groups, interviews, and field notes were transcribed and scrutinized for common themes and trends.
  
  
• Survey Analysis. Faculty and student surveys were cleaned and keypunched. Resulting data were analyzed using SPSS-PC, a Windows-based statistical analysis package.

The following sections detail the findings from the LACTE Year-One evaluation and offer recommendations for years two through five.

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Findings

Findings for Year-One are discussed under four general categories:

• Development of the Collaborative;
• Faculty Recruitment and Development;
• Curriculum Development; and
• Student Participation.

In the following section, these categories are examined using data collected and analyzed by ETI staff.

Development of the Collaborative

During Year One, LACTE coordinators put considerable energy into establishing and developing a collaborative between LACTE institutions. Forming a collaborative in the Los Angeles area across ten campuses proved to be a complex undertaking.

ETI considered the following issues in reviewing the development of the LACTE collaborative:

• To what extent are collaborative arrangements developing among faculty and across departments at individual LACTE institutions?
• To what extent is LACTE developing a collaboration between four-year institutions and the participating community colleges?
• To what extent does LACTE develop collaborative relationships with local teachers and other education reform groups?
• How clear are the goals of LACTE to all of the participants involved?
• What efforts are being made to disseminate results of LACTE and to institutionalize changes begun by the LACTE grant?

Specific findings related to collaborative development are discussed below.

• LACTE formed a collaborative in Year One that brought together faculty from four-year institutions and the community colleges LACTE put a lot of effort into forming a collaborative that involves the ten LACTE campuses. Committees were formed that generally include at least one representative from each of the paired campuses. Coordinating committee members from each campus worked to recruit faculty so that all campuses were represented at collaborative-wide faculty development conferences. In addition, a variety of collaborative-wide seminars and workshops were held at different LACTE campuses throughout Year One. Over 95 percent of faculty surveyed at the spring faculty workshop indicated that they would recommend participating in LACTE to their science and math colleagues.
  
  

• LACTE has adopted a decentralized approach to implementation. Individual campuses are at different stages of implementing the LACTE reforms. In addition, individual campuses are implementing the reforms in unique and interesting ways. This is not surprising given the number and diversity of campuses involved in LACTE. At the same time, faculty at individual campuses indicated that they do not have a good picture of how LACTE is being implemented at other campuses or in the collaborative as a whole. A key question for LACTE as it develops is to what extent the individual campuses and five paired campuses will be left to develop and implement their own programs and to what extent the collaborative will guide program development centrally. This includes program development in the areas of curriculum development, student recruitment, and dissemination.

  "LACTE has adopted a decentralized approach to implementation. As a result, many campuses do not know where other campuses are in their development." (faculty member)

• The management structure of LACTE is being changed and defined as the collaborative develops. The structure established by LACTE involves many committees and coordinators. In addition, some of the administrative positions in LACTE have changed hands over the year. Some faculty members have expressed confusion over the chain of command in LACTE and how decisions are made.

  "By not having a clear definition of responsibility, people are becoming inactive. People are giving up." (faculty member)

  "The management structure is not clear. There is no clear designation of the line of command." (faculty member)

  "Pl, coordinators, campus chairs, and co-chairs-this is a huge group and a good communication group but not a good decision-making group." (faculty member)

• There have been limited opportunities for interaction between College of Education and science/mathematics faculty. On some campuses, there are long-standing barriers to interaction between math/science and College of Education faculty. To build bridges between them, there needs to be planned formats that encourage interaction between the groups. Some campuses have made efforts to bring the two groups together. In general, though, collaborative-wide activities and campus activities have not provided many opportunities for the groups to work together. Such interactions would be helpful in efforts to recruit students into teaching careers as well as in efforts to institute curriculum reforms.

  "The College of Education is cheering on the scientists and will do what they can to cooperate in their involvement in LACTE. Educators and scientists are becoming friends because of LACTE." (College of Education faculty member)

  "I would like to see future events integrate education faculty into discipline-specific groups." (faculty member)

• LACTE has begun the process of disseminating information about the collaborative and institutionalizing changes. LACTE has developed a Web site as well as a brochure onthe collaborative. Inaddition, faculty have been encouraged at faculty workshops and through mailings to submit articles to journals and to present papers at conferences. The Web site has not been tapped as a resource for internal dissemination of information to the various LACTE campuses. LACTE is conscious of the need to institutionalize changes begun by the LACTE grant. Part of the institutionalization process for LACTE is fitting new courses into credential programs so that they will become part of the regular curriculum.

  "A question that needs to be answered is: will the goals of LACTE be institutionalized after funding from NSF stops?" (coordinating committee member)

  "This collaborative needs to create some products that reflect their efforts. If we do not have products, we do not have anything." (coordinating committee member)

• Campuses have begun to form relationships with their paired institutions. However, this is not universal across the paired institutions and some community colleges do not feel like equal partners in LACTE. By the end of Year One, faculty at each of the five paired institutions had been given some opportunities to meet. These opportunities included campus meetings, faculty workshops, and faculty seminars. Paired institutions have had mixed success at working together to advance LACTE goals and objectives. In addition, faculty at some two-year institutions do not feel like equal partners in LACTE.

  "There was no pre-existing relationship with our paired campus. But having relations between a community college and a university is good because it provides a spark and an outreach for both." (community college faculty member)

  "The strength of the interaction among campus partnerships is overstated." (four-year institution faculty member)

• A "master teacher corps" of elementary and secondary teachers have not been brought into the collaborative. One of LACTE's original objectives was to bring a 'master teacher corps' into the collaborative. The inclusion of teachers at workshops and other LACTE activities was intended to maintain contact with the day-to-day needs of teachers and to ensure that developed modules are germane to prospective teachers. Some LACTE student meetings at individual campuses have brought in elementary and secondary teachers to tell students about careers in teaching. The students at these campuses found their interactions with K- 12 teachers very rewarding.

Faculty Recruitment and Development

A series of faculty workshops served as the centerpiece for faculty development and recruitment in Year One. Participants attended workshops on cooperative learning techniques, education theory, and classroom assessment. Additionally, faculty were offered a wide variety of other educational programs and symposiums throughout the year.

ETI considered the following issues in assessing faculty recruitment and development in Year One:

• To what extent did workshops develop faculty knowledge of student learning/thinking processes and cooperative learning techniques?
• How effective were the faculty workshops in changing faculty teaching practices and attitudes toward cooperative learning?
• How well did LACTE workshops establish a collaborative setting for teachers, community college faculty, and four-year institution faculty?
• To what extent were faculty recruited to participate in LACTE?

Specific findings related to faculty recruitment and development are discussed below.

• Faculty development is one of the strongest aspects of LACTE in Year One. Faculty development retreats were generally held every two-to-three months and involved faculty from the various LACTE campuses. Workshops explored cooperative learning techniques, student learning/thinking processes, curriculum development, and classroom assessment. Faculty were given time to work in small discipline-specific groups. In addition, a wide variety of other educational programs and symposiums were offered to LACTE faculty throughout the year. Almost 80 percent of faculty surveyed indicated that faculty workshops met or exceeded their expectations.

  "Out of all of LACTE's goals for the first year, faculty development has come along the farthest." (faculty member)

  "LACTE has quite well provided professional development opportunities for science and math faculty in LACTE institutions to become acquainted with alternative styles of teaching and methods of assessment." (faculty member)

• Overall, faculty indicated on surveys and in focus groups that they felt the workshops to be helpful and that they intended to employ the techniques and information learned during the workshops in their classrooms. Over 85 percent of faculty surveyed indicated that they were "likely" or " definitely likely" to use the information and techniques acquired during the workshops in their classrooms in the future.

  "I was not using cooperative learning before LACTE. I never bought into it until it was modeled at the LACTE conference. When I was done [with the conference], I didn't think of doing it any other way." (faculty member)

  "The workshops were very helpful in terms of teaching and learning skills. This was good for me because I didn't have an educational background." (faculty member)

  "I came back after the conference and used some of the ideas the following week. I liked the practical aspects of the ideas." (faculty member)

• Faculty at the development retreats found their interactions with colleagues from other colleges rewarding. The faculty workshops provided animportant opportunity for faculty from different campuses and from different disciplines to meet. After the earlier workshops, faculty indicated that more time needed to be set aside for informal discussions. Later faculty workshops addressed this need.

  "It would be helpful to have more chances to talk to people regarding teaching and related issues. There should be more informal discussion time." (faculty member)

  "Getting together at the workshop was very helpful in an informal sense. We could use each other as resources and develop fellowship and cooperation." (faculty member)

• Junior faculty are concerned about the effect of joining LACTE on their tenure efforts. In ETI focus groups, junior faculty expressed concern about the effect of involvement in LACTE on tenure. Faculty suggested that a more visible involvement and commitment of senior campus administrators in LACTE and at faculty conferences would encourage junior faculty participation. Over 70 percent of faculty surveyed at the Spring faculty retreat were tenured professors.

  "Experimenting with the way one teaches, regardless of involvement with LACTE, is risky. This experimentation is a lot safer for tenured professors." (faculty member)

  "I would like to see more deportment chairs, associate deans, vice presidents show up more often at LACTE events. This would really propel the program forward." (faculty member)

  "There is enough tension on campus regarding retention, tenure, and promotion that faculty may shy away from LACTE or anything else that may diminish their chances of tenure." (faculty member)

• Some LACTE campuses and faculty groups are not well-represented at faculty workshops. In addition, College of Education faculty are not being recruited to the faculty workshops. A select group of four-year institutions and community colleges are consistently well represented at the faculty workshops. Other LACTE campuses do not have a strong presence at the workshops. Science and math faculty interviewed at four-year campuses without a strong presence at the workshops suggested that there were not enough discipline-specific experts presenting information to be useful to them. The science and math faculty wanted to hear more about classroom reform from scientists and mathematicians rather than from those involved in education reform more generally.

  "More than a dozen science people on my campus are into it [LACTE] but they're not interested in the workshops. The science folks don't peel they can learn much about changing science pedagogy prom sociologists, for example." (science faculty member)

• Ongoing feedback from faculty members is obtained during the workshops which allows for continuous program improvement. LACTE workshop organizers collect a variety of feedback forms over the course of the faculty workshops. This information is incorporated into the planning of future workshop programs. Faculty expressed that LACTE workshop coordinators had been responsive to their input.

  "This year, in response to your stated needs, we will begin to merge teaching/learning strategies with discipline-based course development." (Fall LACTE faculty retreat memorandum)

  "I appreciated how LACTE changed the workshop program to meet our needs." (faculty member)

Curriculum Development

A number of courses across disciplines are under revision. The revision of courses is taking place in a decentralized manner and some campuses are considerably farther along than other. The goal of reviewing elementary and secondary program curriculum has not been a focus in Year One. In future evaluations, ETI will observe classroom activities to see how the revised courses are being implemented.

ETI considered the following issues in reviewing the development of the curriculum:

• What evidence exists of reform in curriculum and pedagogy?
• To what extent has the course of study for pre- service undergraduate students been refined to reflect the integration of mathematics, science, and technology?
• How is classroom assessment changing under LACTE?

Specific findings related to issues of curriculum development are discussed below.

• Faculty survey responses suggest that faculty are being successfully trained in hands-on teaching approaches. In particular, 20 percent of faculty surveyed indicated that prior to LACTE they "often" or "always" used hands-on learning. In contrast, over 85 percent of faculty surveyed reported that after the workshop they were "likely" or "definitely likely" to use the hands-on workshop techniques.

  "I learned in the faculty workshops how to integrate the many specific methods of cooperative learning into a coherent package." (faculty member)

• New courses have been approved by the curriculum committee or are in the process of approval. LACTE funds have been made available for the development of new courses. LACTE pilot course/module development guidelines have been established. Highly desirable characteristics of revised or new courses submitted for approval include collaborative group work, an interdisciplinary approach, and the use of technology. Faculty at several campuses have submitted reformed courses for approval. In addition, some courses are currently being piloted in such fields as geology and mathematics.

  "Next spring a new course will be offered that integrates life and physical sciences. This capstone course has helped break barriers between departments. It is a required course that involves active learning through field trips to Mono Lake and water treatment plants to demonstrate the real life relationship between the life and physical sciences.... Other campuses are watching us and would like to be part of this." (faculty member)

  "In general, curriculum development is a good area at our school." (faculty member)

• LACTE campuses are at different stages with regard to curriculum development. Some campuses have made considerable progress in curriculum development while other campuses are at the beginning stages. Faculty indicated that they would like more information on what other campuses are doing in terms of curriculum development.
  
  

• Faculty expressed a lack of focus in LACTE on the use of technology in reformed courses. The LACTE course/module development guidelines state that the use of technology is a highly desirable characteristic for a reformed course. At the same time, faculty expressed in focus groups they do not feel that LACTE places an emphasis on technology. Part of that is due to LACTE faculty workshops in Year One focusing more heavily on faculty teaching techniques and student learning than on technology.

  "LACTE could get more people involved if they marketed future conferences as designed to describe new technologies." (faculty member)

  "I've noticed a lack of discussion of technology in LACTE. Technology should be a major part of the LACTE project." (faculty member)

• Classroom assessment received considerable attention in Year One. Year One faculty workshops began the discussion of how in cooperative learning environments to assess if students are learning and what they are learning. Specific assessment tools were presented. The area of assessment is continuing to receive attention in Year Two. In future year evaluations, ETI will observe revised and newly developed courses to see how the alternative assessment tools are being brought into the classroom.

  "LACTE has done well at providing professional development opportunities for science and math faculty in LACTE institutions to become acquainted with alternative methods of assessment." (faculty member)

• In general, LACTE faculty are not familiar with LA Pass. LA Pass is a foundation-funded reform effort housed in Los Angeles community college district. LA Pass has a number of goals including getting different levels of institutions to talk with each other and work together. One of LACTE's goals was to pilot reformed science/math courses for community college students who are funded by LA Pass. Faculty generally are not familiar with this goal or the involvement of LA Pass in the collaborative.
  
  

• The review of elementary and secondary programs was not a focus in Year One. However, it is scheduled to become increasingly important in Year Two. One of LACTE's goals is to review and compare current liberal studies and mathematics/science subject waiver programs. Some initial discussions were held in Year One and more attention is planned to be given to the review in Year Two. The development of subject waivers is proving more difficult in the sciences than in mathematics.

  "No one is working on credentials (or science and math education. General education requirements plus science major requirements plus education requirements plus credential requirements cannot fit into five years." (faculty member)

  "LACTE should fund some summer courses in the fields of science and education so that students can graduate in four years with a teaching credential in their hands." (LACTE student)

Student Participation

While LACTE coordinators made strides toward meeting a number of their objectives in Year One, student recruitment received less attention by design. Staff focused on preparing a solid foundation for the program through reforming courses and training faculty in cooperative learning. However, small groups of students were recruited into LACTE. In addition, students from a few campuses were placed in internships.

ETI considered the following issues in reviewing student participation:

• How effective has LACTE been in making its presence known to students?
• What efforts are underway to attract students to LACTE and LACTE courses
• To what extent are internships or other opportunities offered to LACTE students?
• What type of support network has been established for students in LACTE?

Specific findings related to student participation are discussed below.

• Recruitment of students into LACTE is at different stages at the various campuses. Faculty are anxious for more information about other campuses' experiences with student recruitment. A subcommittee on student recruitment met regularly in Year One and began to develop a formal strategic plan for recruitment. In addition, preliminary work began on a written plan to specifically recruit minority students into LACTE. In Year One, individual campuses devoted different levels of energy to student recruitment. At some campuses, administrators and faculty expressed the need to establish LACTE in Year One before focusing on student recruitment. At a few campuses, surveys were administered in classes to identify potential LACTE students.

  "In terms of student recruitment, we need to be able to identify the students' role in the program and we need to be able to tell students exactly what they will be doing. I will feel better about student recruitment after we know what LACTE is about." (faculty member)

  "We have not tried specifically to recruit minority students. There are some very active minority clubs on campus and we should try to attend some of their meetings." (faculty member)

  "I now ask my class if anyone is interested in teaching science. I never would have thought of asking this question before. Some students say they are interested in teaching as a career." (faculty member)

  "I've already seen interest from students and those who should change careers but I don't know who is eligible to participate in LACTE." (faculty member)

• Students involved in LACTE in Year One reported positive experiences. One of the highlights for students involved in LACTE has been the close interaction with faculty. Students expressed that they feel comfortable approaching LACTE faculty as mentors. In addition, LACTE student meetings gave students an opportunity to get to know other students interested in teaching careers.

  "LACTE's strong points include the small, intimate groups sharing points of view. The faculty are very positive and supportive. I am amazed at the quality achieved in the first year." (LACTE student)

  "I have found LACTE to be very beneficial. Not only does it give us the opportunity to have other teachers and professors in our field of study as mentors, it also gives us a chance to voice our interests and the frustrations that we encounter in our field." (LACTE student)

  "I have always wanted to be an educator but LACTE helped me realize the need for science and math teachers." (LACTE student)

• Some LACTE students participated in student internships and other experiential learning activities.A small group of LACTE students participated in student internships and other experiential activities. These activities included internships at the California Museum of Science and Industry and teaching assistantships. In telephone interviews with ETI staff, students expressed that these activities provided valuable learning experiences. Students at campuses where internships and other activities were not offered expressed that they would like to see these activities offered in Year Two.

  "The internship helped me get my current job teaching elementary school." (LACTE student)

  "LACTE enables students who are interested in teaching to go out there and develop experiences that will eventually lead them to be teachers." (LACTE student)

  "There have been several activities for the students including a math anxiety night, mentor professors, and a get acquainted night. Some students are also involved in a program tutoring junior high students in math and science. These activities will only continue to grow." (faculty member)

• LACTE students at individual campuses would like more contact with LACTE students at other institutions. Ingeneral, there have not been formal opportunities for LACTE students from different campuses to meet each other. Some LACTE students from different campuses had an opportunity to meet each other through student internships. LACTE students indicated that they would enjoy meeting other LACTE students to share what is happening on different campuses and to form a larger support network.

  "I would like to see a LACTE mini conference. It would be great to see what other students have done at other schools." (LACTE student)

• Faculty involved with LACTE student groups indicated that they would like information on what activities other campuses are doing with recruited students. Faculty at individual campuses have implemented a variety of interesting and unique programs for LACTE students. In focus groups, faculty indicated that they would benefit from additional ideas for planning activities for LACTE students. Faculty are interested in getting information on what student activities are taking place at other LACTE campuses.

  "We need a storehouse of ideas to draw from for student meetings." (faculty member)

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Recommendations

ETI believes that there are specific recommendations that, when implemented, will enhance the various program dimensions of LACTE and strengthen LACTE overall in Years Two through Five. Based on the findings outlined above, the Evaluation and Training Institute offers the suggestions listed below:

Development of the Collaborative

• The organizational structure of LACTE should be clarified to faculty. Some faculty are confused about the management structure of LACTE and how decisions are made in LACTE. The decision-making structure should be clarified at LACTE-wide meetings, such as faculty development retreats, as well as at individual campus LACTE events.
  
  
• LACTE needs to emphasize the full inclusion of all community college partners and encourage community college faculty who attend the workshops to act as "ambassadors" on their campuses. Some community college faculty do not feel like full participants in LACTE. As many of the paired campuses had no relationship prior to LACTE, efforts need to continuously be made to bring the community colleges into the collaborative as full partners. This includes involving the community colleges in working committees and in other decision-making functions. Community college faculty need to continue to be encouraged to attend faculty workshops and other LACTE activities. In addition, paired campuses need to continue to plan joint events.
  
  
• LACTE coordinators at each campus need to continue to promote interaction between the College of Education and the math/science faculty. Faculty from both schools recognize that efforts need to be made to increase interaction and to encourage the full participation of both groups in the collaborative. LACTE coordinators on individual campuses need to ensure that College of Education faculty are encouraged to participate in LACTE. In addition, formal interactions need to be planned to bring both groups together to work to meet the goals of LACTE.
  
  
• LACTE coordinators should develop an institutionalization plan that includes a time line and the assignment of specific responsibilities. LACTE coordinators are beginning the process to institutionalize the LACTE reforms. To help in these efforts, the coordinators should develop an institutionalization plan that includes a clear schedule and designates specific responsibilities to particular participants.
  
  
• LACTE coordinators should continue to emphasize dissemination efforts. In particular, coordinating committee meetings, and possibly faculty workshops, should have time set aside to discuss dissemination efforts and specifically what each person is doing to promote LACTE dissemination. This would encourage dissemination efforts as well as give participants a chance to exchange ideas and receive feedback.
  
  
• The Web site created and maintained by LACTE should continue to be developed for internal and external dissemination purposes. There is little question that the Internet can be exploited to the best advantage of LACTE. The work that has already been made in this direction should be encouraged, particularly as the LACTE Web site could serve as an important tool for internal and external dissemination. Internally, the Web site could provide an important communication link to inform individual campuses of what other campuses are doing to meet LACTE's objectives. In addition, course information, curriculum materials, and faculty workshop materials could be shared over the Web site. The Web site needs to be updated regularly.
  
  
• Provide a pamphlet, newsletter, or Web-site information page to LACTE participants that tells what each campus is doing to meet individual LACTE objectives. The pamphlet should include information from each campus on what they are doing to meet each of LACTE's objectives including: faculty development, curriculum development, student recruitment, field site development for students, and dissemination. This would encourage individual campuses to work toward and document progress toward objectives. In addition, the pamphlet would be an important communication tool for sharing information across campuses. Further, such a document would help LACTE keep a record of what is being accomplished and help in their documentation to NSF.

Faculty Recruitment and Development

• K-12 teachers should be included as participants in future workshops and other LACTE activities. The inclusion of K- 12 teachers would ensure educational continuity and that materials developed are germane to the needs of teachers and prospective educators at that level. Since a primary focus of LACTE is K- 12 teacher preparation, it stands to reason that educators at this level could contribute a great deal to the faculty workshops and to curriculum development in terms of both insight and experience.
  
  
• LACTE needs to continue efforts to enlist a visible involvement and commitment of senior campus administrators to encourage faculty participation, and particularly junior faculty participation. Administrators at four-year and community college campuses should continue to be made aware of the impact of the collaboration in order to generate high-level support for LACTE on the various campuses.
  
  
• LACTE should emphasize the presence of discipline-specific experts presenting information at faculty conferences. Faculty are particularly interested in getting more discipline-specific information on instructional techniques and curriculum revision. At the same time, to further the goals of LACTE, it is also important to continue to have opportunities for faculty from different disciplines to work together.
  
  
• LACTE faculty development workshops should provide information on how new technologies can be incorporated into revised or new courses. Faculty are interested in learning about the use of new technologies in math and science classrooms. LACTE may be able to attract new faculty to workshop sessions that look at how new technologies, including Web sites, are being incorporated into courses.

Curriculum Development

• The areas of student and classroom assessment should be included in the guidelines for the revision of courses. In workshops, LACTE faculty are exploring a number of assessment tools to correspond with the hands-on approach to course work. The inclusion of the use of new assessment tools as one of the guidelines for course development would emphasize the importance of this aspect of LACTE. This includes faculty members providing information on what criteria they will use to determine how students are performing in their revised course.
  
  
• LACTE should clarify the involvement of LA Pass in the collaborative. Faculty are generally not familiar with LA Pass or its involvement in LACTE. LA Pass could be a strong partner in LACTE, and LA Pass students would provide an opportunity to pilot revised courses.
  
  
• All LACTE campuses need to be encouraged in the revision of their curriculum.Not all LACTE campuses have been involved in the revision of courses. The LACTE curriculum committee should encourage all campuses to submit course and/or module revisions and provide information on the incentives being provided for curriculum development. One way to encourage all campuses to get involved would be to provide time at faculty workshops or other LACTE events for each campus to briefly describe the classes or modules that have been revised on their campus. This would also provide an opportunity for faculty to become informed about what kinds of curriculum development are taking place at other campuses.
  
  
• More attention needs to be focused on the review of liberal studies and math/science subject waiver programs. Some initial discussions were held in Year One and more attention is planned to be given to the review in Year Two. The development of subject waivers is a large undertaking and is proving more difficult in the sciences than in mathematics. faculty from each institution will need to be involved to develop a list of common components and units across courses.

Student Participation

• LACTE schools need stronger, more focused marketing to attract students. LACTE students were very positive about their experiences with the LACTE program. At the same time, students did not feel that the campuses have heavily marketed the program. In addition, some campuses are considerably further along than others in recruiting students into LACTE. LACTE needs a central recruitment plan that includes information on what students LACTE wishes to attract and how to go about identifying and attracting them to LACTE. Based on the central plan, individual campuses need to develop their own recruitment plans that are specific to their student bodies. Recruitment planning needs to pay particular attention to the recruitment of minority students. campuses that have developed successful recruitment models in Year One should be called on to share their models. In addition, LACTE students had several good Suggestions about recruitment and should be consulted in developing outreach plans.
  
  
• Reformed courses need to be vigorously marketed to targeted student audiences. In order to train future teachers and attract future teachers to math and science, LACTE needs to vigorously market new and revised courses to LACTE students. Further, for students to become part of the word-of-mouth network that LACTE is hoping to employ in its promotion, students need to be made aware of the courses that have been reformed.
  
  
• Internships and other experiential learning experiences should be expanded to include more students. Students involved in internships reported positive experiences. In addition, students at campuses where internships were not offered indicated that this is the area that they would most like LACTE to develop in Year Two. Students are interested in a variety of internship opportunities including teaching assistantships at local schools.
  
  
• Faculty at individual campuses should share information on LACTE student activities on their campuses. Faculty involved with LACTE students indicated that they would benefit from a sharing of ideas for LACTE student activities. Faculty at individual campuses have implemented a variety of interesting and unique programs for the students. Faculty should share their ideas as well as information on what activities have and have not been well received by students.
  
  
• LACTE coordinators should plan a forum to bring together LACTE students from different campuses. LACTE students at individual campuses expressed interest in meeting other LACTE students. In addition, students are curious about student activities taking place at other LACTE institutions. A meeting among students could provide an important larger support network for students interested in careers as math and science teachers. In developing the student meeting, student input should be sought so that the meeting addresses their interests and needs.
  
  

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